Isaacson: Jobs was voting Obama

It made headlines when it was revealed in a new book that Steve Jobs had told President Barack Obama he’d be a one-termer if he weren’t more business-friendly.

The revelation comes from Walter Isaacson’s just-published authorized biography of Jobs, but the author tells POLITICO that the Apple founder was still backing Obama, despite his concerns.

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“That got overblown,” said Isaacson. “He was really into supporting Obama in 2012…He wanted to make ads for Obama.”

Those TV spots would have been quite something, said Isaacson, considering the strength of Apple’s advertising reputation. “He felt that you needed to do that kind of ‘It’s Morning in America’ thing that Hal Riney did for Reagan,” said Isaacson.

It would have been a rare foray into politics for Jobs, whom Isaacson said “he just didn’t focus on politics.” (In case you were wondering, Isaacson said the topic of the 2012 Republican field never came up).

“He was fine with government policies, in general,” said Isaacson.

Isaacson, still in the midst of a whirlwind book promotion given the timeliness of his biography, says Jobs’ death had a profound affect on him.

“The emotionalism surrounding his death was something that I wasn’t fully prepared for,” said Isaacson. “I actually hoped the book would be out while he was still alive — and I thought he had a good chance to stay one step ahead of the cancer. And when the emotionalism hit, it hit me as well, too.”